Here's a complete round up of Indian sporting news on Thursday, November 9.
Here's something on India, Pakistan and tennis
According to a PTI report, the Pakistan Tennis Federation has claimed the Davis Cup Committee had ruled that India have to play their tie in Pakistan as per the original schedule.
The report states the Davis Cup Committee has accepted the PTF presentation against the All-Indian Tennis Association's refusal to send India Davis Cup team to Pakistan for the Group I Playoff tie in Islamabad in the first week of February.
The Indian federation had told the Davis Cup Committee that it is not possible for them to send their team to Islamabad and wanted the tie to be organised at a neutral venue.
It's an issue that was seen in the recent Asia Cup cricket tournament where the Indian team didn't travel to Pakistan and their matches too place in Sri Lanka. Let's see how the AITA responds to the latest development.
I-League update
Two matches took place on Thursday.
Shillong Lajong FC earned a point on I-League's return to the Meghalaya capital after a gap of four seasons as their match with NEROCA FC ended in a 1-1 draw.
Lajong took the lead through their Brazilian midfielder Renan Paulino in the 34th minute. NEROCA bounced back in the second half, equalising through Jamaican striker Fabian Reid in the 79th minute.
Meanwhile, Gokulam Kerala FC defeated Rajasthan United FC 5-0 to extend their unbeaten start. Alex Sanchez was the star for Gokulam as he scored a super hat trick (61′), (74′), (88′). Komron Tursunov (33′) and Sreekuttan VS (69') were the other goalscorers.
Gokulam top the league with seven points while Mohammedan Sporting Club are behind them, also on seven points, followed Sreenidi Deccan FC with six points.
National Games concludes
The National Games 2023 came to an end today in Goa.
Bit of a surprise in overall medals tally as Maharashtra finished above Services after winning a total of 228 medals -- 80 gold, 69 silver and 79 bronze medals. Services topped the Games in the last four editions -- 2007, 2011, 2015 and 2022 -- but this time finished second after claiming 66 gold, 27 silver and 33 bronze medals.
Haryana are third in the standings with 62 gold, 54 silver and 73 bronze. Madhya Pradesh and Kerala finished fourth and fifth respectively with hosts Goa registering their best-ever finish at ninth with a total of 92 medals, including 27 gold.
When it comes to players, Karnataka swimmer Srihari Nataraj has been crowned the best male athlete after he won a total of 10 medals -- 8 gold, 1 silver and 1 bronze. Gymnasts Sanyukta Prasen Kale and Pranati Nayak of Odisha -- 4 gold, 1 silver each -- were named the best female athletes of the Games.
Almost 11,000 sportspersons participated in 42 sports disciplines at the Natinla Games, three of which were demo sports.
Details from the AIFF Executive Committee meeting
News coming in from that AIFF meeting in Delhi today: The Santosh trophy, India's men's inter-state football championship, will be known as the FIFA Santosh Trophy. There's no clear reason, though, why the tournament, which started in 1941, should have FIFA in its name. All that AIFF president Kalyan Chaubey said in a post-meeting statement was this: "After discussions with FIFA, the Santosh Trophy will now be known as the FIFA Santosh Trophy. This entails that a team of FIFA officials will come to have a meeting with Arunachal Pradesh officials on the conduct of the tournament." He also said that FIFA President Gianni Infantino was expected to be present for the final of next year's tournament in March.
Before that, though, is the visit - probably more eagerly anticipated by ordinary fans in India - of Arsene Wenger. Currently FIFA's Chief of Global Football Development, Wenger is will be in India this month. On his schedule are detailed discussions on plans to establish the proposed FIFA-AIFF academy. Chaubey said the plan was to have five academies, one across each zone in India.
One VIP visit - that of Germany's goalkeeping great Oliver Kahn - is already over, and it's yielded a plan for a goalkeepers' academy. Kahn, who was here on a personal visit, met Chaubey on this issue.
Also, the AIFF Executive Committee ratified the sacking of Shaji Prabhakaran from the post of secretary general. The Committee, which met with president Kalyan Chaubey in the chair, also approved the appointment of Karnataka official Satyanarayan M as the acting secretary general.
"There was no objection from any member of the executive committee, it was a unanimous decision (to ratify the termination of Shaji Prabhakaran as Secretary General)," Satyanarayan told PTI.
However, four members, including former India captains Bhaichung Bhutia and Climax Lawrence, were absent.
Ramit Tandon loses
Indian interest at the Ace Malaysia Squash Cup 2023 came to an end after Ramit Tandon lost in straight games to top seed Mostafa Asal in the semifinal.
Tandon, who came into the match on a high after an upset win over world no.11 Victor Crouin in the quarterfinal didn't have a sniff, as Asal won 11-6 11-1 11-5. Asal had earlier beaten the top-ranked Indian player Saurav Ghosal in the quarterfinal. The 31-year-old Tandon had stunned the third-seeded Frenchman Victor Crouin in the quarterfinal yesterday.
�� Just unstoppable from @mostafasal_! pic.twitter.com/yaH3P3wMpD
- PSA World Tour (@PSAWorldTour) November 9, 2023
Kalarippayattu makes National Games debut
Kalaripayattu, an Indian martial arts form, made its debut in the ongoing 37th edition of the National Games in Goa.
Kalarippayattu traces its origins back more than 3,000 years in Kerala, a state immensely rich in tradition and history. The name itself is derived from two Malayalam words, "kalari" meaning battlefield and "payattu" meaning fight. Tt was designed as a means of self-defence and combat training.
"We are thankful to the Government of India for giving us the recognition which we truly deserved for a long time. A sport like Kalarippayattu, which is deeply ingrained into the Indian ethos and culture, deserves to be promoted so that more youth take active interest in it," Adv. Poonthura Soman, Secretary General, Indian Kalarippayattu Federation, said.
"In 2016, UNESCO included Kalaripayattu on its Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, highlighting its cultural significance and the need to preserve it for future generations," he added.
India's compound archers excel
Indian compound archery continued to rake in the medals, this time at the Asian Archery Championships where India won three gold medals, a silver and a bronze. However, one result that sticks out a bit is the Jyothi Surekha Vennam losing the gold medal match to a younger Indian compatriot... again.
18-year-old Parneet Kaur beat Jyothi, India's most successful compound archer, in the final that went right down to the wire. The two were tied at a score of 145 points each and a shoot-off ensued, where Parneet edged past Jyothi to win 9-8. Jyothi had similarly gone down to 17-year-old Aditi Swami in the semifinals of the World Championship in August, where she won an individual bronze. She later won the Asian Games gold, beating Aditi in the semis. The trio of Jyothi, Aditi and Parneet swept up the women's team gold at all three events.
These results tell of India women's compound archery depth, confidence, and level of competition. However, one has to feel for Jyothi, the 27-year-old has been the sole flagbearer of Indian compound archery for very long and now returns from the world and continental championship without gold and losses to much younger Indians in the span of months.
Here's how Indian archers performed on the final day of the tournament.
Meanwhile. Aditi Swami's story sounds like the plot of an uplifting sports film, albeit a fictional one: She was an introverted child who picked up an archery bow, at a stadium full of team sports, because her father said she had to play something alongside studies. And the result of that? She goes on to become India's first senior world champion at only 17 years of age.....and the Under-18 women's world champion by breaking the junior qualifying world record.
Our correspondent Zenia D'Cunha caught up with the teenager, who has another tough task ahead of her - to prepare for her 12th board exams. More on that here: 'Age doesn't matter': 17-year-old world champ Aditi Swami on her dream debut season